Arthroscopic surgery involves using optical instruments, such as an arthroscope, to visualize an operating field inside or near a joint of a patient. The same instrument or other instruments may be used to perform a surgical procedure in the operating field.
Known inflow and outflow arthroscope systems generally consist of several elements, which include a flexible or rigid tube, a light that illuminates the area the doctor wants to examine (where the light is typically outside of the body and delivered via an optical fiber system), a lens system that transmits an image to the viewer from the arthroscope and another channel that allows the entry of medical instruments or manipulators. The lens systems typically use pre-manufactured square or rectangular shaped CCD chips. Traditionally, arthroscopes are circular so that the arthroscope does not have sharp edges that may cause trauma to tissue. When the chips are housed within the arthroscope, this results in a great amount of wasted space between the square chips and the circular arthroscope that houses the chips.